Posts Tagged ‘crackle’

I have wanted a great wreath on our door since taking down all of the holiday stuff. After searching high and low and everywhere in between, I wasn’t able to find one that oozed charm and simplicity so I settled on decided to make my own.

I knew what I didn’t want it to look like, but I couldn’t picture what I DID want. For inspiration, I turned to Pinterest (where else?!) and found so many adorable coffee filter wreathes. Oh the things you can do with common household supplies… I love it!! While I thought a full frilly wreath might be too much for the Mr. to handle, when I saw this, I knew I was on to something.

Off to AC Moore I went for a grapevine wreath and house numbers.
$7.87, some paint and a bit of hot glue later I had this:

With minimal supplies and just an hour of time the wreath was done. Not too shabby… rather, it’s just shabby enough!!

Since the numbers are what took the most time because of the crackle finish, I thought I would actually highlight that aspect rather than the flowers since there are tutorials all over the web for those. I wanted something that looked found but I didn’t have time to browse antique stores for a 6, 3, and 0. Crackle is all over everything – outdoor décor, picture frames, even finger nails, so it was easy to decide upon that finish. I ran across some crackle medium at the craft store for $8 which on its own was not that bad but since all I wanted to paint was three 4” letters, that just didn’t seem cost effective. I did some searching and found that you can do crackle with Elmer’s glue… SAY WHAT?! Yes, you read that right. Elmer’s glue will create a phenomenal crackle finish!

Materials needed:

Elmer’s glue (wood glue, all purpose, school… any will work)

Acrylic paint

Water (if desired)

Sponge brush.

Steps:

Sand/prime object if necessary

Paint the object with a thin base coat of paint; this is the color that you want to see through the crackles. Let dry completely. (about 10 minutes, give or take)

Paint a thick, gloppy (gloppy is a word J) coat of glue. Allow it to get tacky and thicken up a bit but do NOT let it dry.

Immediately paint the main color; this is the color that will eventually crackle. Try to paint in one direction, which I personally found to be a bit difficult considering I was making a 3-dimensional object, but do your best!

Step back and let it dry. This will take a good 10-30 minutes to completely dry on its own. You’ll gradually see the crackles begin to form which is fun in its own right. (I lack patience entirely, so I pulled out my blow dryer and put it on a low setting to speed up the process)

Enjoy the crackly goodness and use for whatever finished project you want! Since Elmer’s is not waterproof, you NEED to waterproof it with a clear coat, but that’s not necessary if it won’t come in contact with water.